Serving caddy

ABSTRACT

A serving caddy with perimetral cutout holsters is provided. The perimetral cutout holsters are cutouts of the body of the serving caddy, wherein the cutout communicates with the body&#39;s periphery defining a gap of the periphery. Each cutout holster is dimensioned and adapted to slidably receive a bottom of conical, tapering container in an unengaged state though when the serving caddy is raised relative to the container, the cutout holster and the container form and engaged state along an upper half of the container&#39;s sidewall. The serving caddy has a centrally disposed handle cutout pair that defines a cross bar or handle portion, enabling a secure grip of the serving caddy simply by singlehandedly grabbing the handle portion, whereby the serving caddy is secure the instant it is lifted off a supporting surface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. provisional application No. 63/261,519, filed Sep. 23, 2021 the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to food industry service trays, and more particularly, a single-handed non-spill beverage serving caddy.

Serving beverages to a table full of people is commonplace in restaurants, at house parties, and other establishments where ready-to-drink beverages and ready-to-eat meals are brought to customers, guests, and clientele.

The inherent unsteadiness of flat beverage serving trays and their unsecured attachment of the beverages they support, however, can result in accidents. Specifically, the lack of engagement between the flat serving tray and the beverages it supports (beyond minimal friction forces) can result, for instance when the tray is even slightly nudged or jolted, in beverages sliding around and/or off the tray. Since the serving environments listed above can be fast-paced and raucous affairs, beverage serving trays frequently need to be moved suddenly to avoid a collision, which can cause a total loss of contents, causing a safety hazard to crash the party in the form of broken glass and wet floors.

Furthermore, the process a server goes through to support the tray—i.e., wherein the carrier's hand is positioned underneath the center of the otherwise wobbly tray—involves a three-step process of first grabbing the tray by its edges, lifting the tray enough to get the user's hand underneath, and finally placing said hand in the hoped-for center of gravity. In short, current trays and devices in the beverage service industry do not securely engage the beverages they support, threatening spills and accidents, while demanding an unsteady process each time the user carries such trays, causing user fatigue.

As can be seen, there is a need for a single-handed non-spill beverage serving caddy, providing a plurality of radially spaced apart individual “beverage holsters” or cutouts, wherein each beverage may be secured above its center of gravity, therein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The heart of the invention is a serving disc caddy providing an ergonomic design featuring a centrally disposed—i.e., at the center of gravity of the serving caddy-handle that just takes one step to singlehandedly grip, thereby greatly increasing the safety and stability of transporting multiple beverages of different sizes and quantities with one hand.

In one aspect of the present invention, a serving tray includes a body defined by a perimeter; a plurality of perimetral holster cutouts, each perimetral holster cutout in communication with said perimeter so as to define a chord gap along said perimeter; and a handle portion centrally disposed in the body.

In another aspect of the present invention, the serving tray further includes, wherein the handle portion is defined by two spaced apart hand voids, wherein each perimetral holster cutout is circular but for a circular segment defined by the chord gap and the perimetral holster cutout; further including one or more pairs of circumscribed holster cutouts, wherein each pair of circumscribed holster cutouts is diametrically oriented relative to the handle portion, wherein the perimeter is defined by a continuous curve but for each chord gap, wherein a bottom of the handle portion is offset upward of a bottom of the body.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, a serving tray system includes the following: a serving tray providing: a body defined by a perimeter; a plurality of perimetral holster cutouts, each perimetral holster cutout in communication with said perimeter so as to define a chord gap along said perimeter; and a handle portion centrally disposed in the body; and a plurality of tapering containers, wherein each tapering container has a bottom diameter less than a chord distance of the chord gap, wherein a diameter of each perimetral holster cutout is equal to a diameter of the tapering container at or above a center of gravity of the tapering container.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, shown in use.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, shown in use.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a section view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, taken along line 6-6 in FIG. 4 .

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.

Broadly, an embodiment of the present invention provides a serving caddy with perimetral cutout holsters spaced apart along a periphery of the caddy. The perimetral cutout holsters are cutouts of the body of the serving caddy, wherein the cutout communicates with the body's periphery defining a gap of the periphery. Each cutout holster is dimensioned and adapted to slidably receive a bottom of conical, tapering container in an unengaged state though when the serving caddy is raised relative to the container, the cutout holster and the container form and engaged state along an upper half of the container's sidewall. The serving caddy has a centrally disposed handle cutout pair that defines a cross bar or handle portion, enabling a secure grip of the serving caddy simply by singlehandedly grabbing the handle portion, whereby the serving caddy is secure the instant it is lifted off a supporting surface.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 through 7 , the present invention may include a serving caddy 10 comprising a planar unitary piece of material with specifically size and placed peripheral cutout holsters 12. The serving caddy 10 may be fabricated from wood or other man-made materials such as polymers, plastics, resins, various metallic materials, concrete materials, and stone materials, and the like. Alternatively, the serving caddy 10 may be a composite of various materials using mechanical or industrial grade glues and adhesives to bond the plurality of materials to make one unit.

Along a periphery of the serving caddy 10 are spaced apart cutout holsters 12 dimensioned and adapted to cradle a tapering container at or above its center of gravity. Each cutout holster 12 may communicate with a peripheral edge 11 of the serving caddy 10 so that an otherwise circular cutout holster 12 is missing a circular segment, as shown in the Figures. This may facilitate engaging and disengaging the container 18 into each cutout holster 12, as opposed to having to drop the container 18 in from directly above. The serving caddy 10 may be a geometric or non-geometric shape as long as it functions as disclosed herein; though, a curved perimeter/periphery provides efficient arrangement of a plurality of perimetral cutout holsters 12.

In certain embodiments, a chord A, defined by the missing circular segment (i.e., the interface of the serving caddy 10's peripheral edge 11 and the cutout holster 12, where each cutout holster 12 “communicates” with the peripheral edge 11) may have a predetermined distance based on the size of tapered containers 18 allocated to that cutout holster 12. More specifically, the diameter of the bottom of the tapered container 18 may be less than the chord distance (of chord A), whereby when both the serving caddy 10 and the bottom of the tapered container 18 are supported by the same surface, the tapered container 18 can be laterally slide through the chord gap. At this point, the tapered container 18 may stand within the cutout holster 12 with the interior edges of the cutout holster 12 not touching or engaging the sidewalls of the tapered container 18. Though, since the diameter of the tapered container 18 increases as a function of its height above its bottom, if the serving caddy 10 were vertically elevated relative to the tapered container 18 at some point those interior edges of the cutout holster 12 would engage the outer sidewalls of the tapered container 18 (forming a “slide holster engagement”, thereby restricting the undesirable lateral movement of the container 18) so that the tapered container 18 is elevated along with the serving caddy 10. Of course, with the serving caddy 10 supported on a supporting surface, a user could vertically lower (as opposed to laterally slide) the bottom of the container 18 into the void defined by a cutout holster 12. In yet another embodiment, the tapered container 18 is specifically designed so that slide holster engagement engages a tapered container 18 at or above its center of gravity.

Two spaced apart handle voids 14 or slots may be symmetrically disposed along a center of mass line defines a handle portion 16 therebetween. The handle portion 16 may have a smooth rounded surface, wherein a user may manually grip the handle portion 16 of the material between the two handle voids 14. Though not shown in the Figures, the hand portion 16 may be elevated above a plane defining a bottom surface of the serving caddy 10 that would rest against a supporting surface/table, whereby a user could still manually grab the handle portion 16 in this supported state. In other embodiments, the bottom surface of the serving caddy 10 could have feet (not shown) which elevates handle portion 16 above the supporting surface sufficient for a user to get their fingers between the supporting surface and the underside of the handle portion 16.

In certain embodiments, oval shaped serving caddies 22 and 26 may provide additional fully circumscribed holster holes 24 and 30 to hold additional, possibly differently sized containers 18. These fully circumscribed holes 24 and 30 would most likely be centered along the major axis or axis of symmetry of the serving caddy 22 or 26 for load balancing reasons. Of course, one serving caddy 26 may provide perimetral holster cutouts 12 and 28 of different sizes (e.g., where one perimetral holster cutout 12 is for a beer glass, while another perimetral holster cutout 28 is for a shot glass).

A method of manufacturing the present invention may include the following. By using a single piece of material or combination of materials a manufacturer may create a flat board of generally even thickness. Then the manufacturer may cut a desired shape thereof. Then the manufacturer may cut out specifically sized voids for beverage retention and to create an easy to carry handle. Alternatively, the method of manufacturing may include additive manufacture, three-dimensional printing, injection molding, or any other means for manufacture that produces the invention as disclosed herein. Rubber feet could be added as an option.

A method of using the present invention may include the following. The serving caddy 10 disclosed above may be provided. A user may place the servicing caddy 10 on the flat surface, such as a counter or table. Then the user may place beverages throughout the cutout holsters 12 so the serving caddy 10 is load balanced. If there are only a few beverages, the user can place each pair of beverages in a diametrically opposing relationship relative to each other. Then the user may grip the handle portion 16 and lift the serving caddy 10 until the conically shaped beverage containers 18 are engaged and supported by the inner edges of each cutout holster 12. Then the user further lifts and securely carries the holster-engaged beverages with an ease, a steadiness, and a control lacking in prior art solid flat beverage serving trays.

As used in this application, the term “about” or “approximately” refers to a range of values within plus or minus 10% of the specified number. And the term “substantially” refers to up to 80% or more of an entirety. Recitation of ranges of values herein are not intended to be limiting, referring instead individually to any and all values falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated, and each separate value within such a range is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein.

For purposes of this disclosure, the term “aligned” means parallel, substantially parallel, or forming an angle of less than 35.0 degrees. For purposes of this disclosure, the term “transverse” means perpendicular, substantially perpendicular, or forming an angle between 55.0 and 125.0 degrees. Also, for purposes of this disclosure, the term “length” means the longest dimension of an object. Also, for purposes of this disclosure, the term “width” means the dimension of an object from side to side. For the purposes of this disclosure, the term “above” generally means superjacent, substantially superjacent, or higher than another object although not directly overlying the object. Further, for purposes of this disclosure, the term “mechanical communication” generally refers to components being in direct physical contact with each other or being in indirect physical contact with each other where movement of one component affect the position of the other.

The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (“e.g.,” “such as,” or the like) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the embodiments and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the embodiments or the claims. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any unclaimed element as essential to the practice of the disclosed embodiments.

In the following description, it is understood that terms such as “first,” “second,” “top,” “bottom,” “up,” “down,” and the like, are words of convenience and are not to be construed as limiting terms unless specifically stated to the contrary.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A serving tray, comprising: a body defined by a perimeter; a plurality of perimetral holster cutouts, each perimetral holster cutout in communication with said perimeter so as to define a chord gap along said perimeter; and a handle portion centrally disposed in the body.
 2. The serving tray of claim 1, wherein the handle portion is defined by two spaced apart hand voids.
 3. The serving tray of claim 1, wherein each perimetral holster cutout is circular but for a circular segment defined by the chord gap and the perimetral holster cutout.
 4. The serving tray of claim 1, further comprising one or more pairs of circumscribed holster cutouts, wherein each pair of circumscribed holster cutouts is diametrically oriented relative to the handle portion.
 5. The serving tray of claim 1, wherein the perimeter is defined by a continuous curve but for each chord gap.
 6. The serving tray of claim 1, wherein a bottom of the handle portion is offset upward of a bottom of the body.
 7. A serving tray, comprising: a body defined by a perimeter; a plurality of perimetral holster cutouts, each perimetral holster cutout in communication with said perimeter so as to define a chord gap along said perimeter, wherein each perimetral holster cutout is circular but for a circular segment defined by the chord gap and the perimetral holster cutout; a handle portion centrally disposed in the body, wherein the handle portion is defined by two spaced apart hand voids; and one or more pairs of circumscribed holster cutouts, wherein each pair of circumscribed holster cutouts is diametrically oriented relative to the handle portion, wherein the perimeter of the body is defined by a continuous curve but for each chord gap.
 8. A serving tray system, comprising: a serving tray, comprising: a body defined by a perimeter; a plurality of perimetral holster cutouts, each perimetral holster cutout in communication with said perimeter so as to define a chord gap along said perimeter; and a handle portion centrally disposed in the body; and a plurality of tapering containers, wherein each tapering container has a bottom diameter less than a chord distance of the chord gap.
 9. The serving tray system of claim 8, wherein a diameter of each perimetral holster cutout is equal to a diameter of the tapering container at or above a center of gravity of the tapering container. 